NCL Breaks Ships

NCL Breaks Ships

Today I returned from a 10-day Eastern Caribbean cruise via Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). It was scheduled to be a 5-port stop, but wound up being 4. On the second day at sea of the cruise, passengers were informed that at least one day prior, the Azipod propulsion system was experiencing computer malfunctions. The ship could not make top speed. To make matters worse, the ship did not carry a spare part for this system, and consequently, our first port at San Juan was canceled. The rest of the trip's itinerary was effectively up in the air. A day later, they confirmed that our third port, St Maarten, would become our second port, leaving the remaining two ports still with no confirmation. At the end of two days later, barely 12 hours before scheduled docking, we were informed that our remaining two ports of Antigua and Tortola were confirmed.

This was, naturally, a nightmare, and for a variety reasons. The first and foremost was that San Juan was the most anticipated stop for my girlfriend and me. It was also the longest port of call, at 9 hours. We had a variety of activities we had planned that were then, with less than 24 hours' notice, canceled.

The other reasons this was a nightmare:
- For half our cruise, we did not even know if we would see even 3 or 4 ports.
- This is a 2-year old ship, the youngest in NCL's "youngest fleet in the world" fleet. If a single malfunction in the propulsion system could make our speed crippled, we feared for the remainder of the trip (8 of 10 days) that another system could break and leave us stranded - or worse - at any moment.
- This was my girlfriend's first cruise, as well as her first ever visit to the Caribbean. Worst first impression ever.
- My girlfriend gets seasick, and still gets queasy even medicated with sea-calm pills. I realize that NCL has no control over the 15 foot seas that were present in the Atlantic, however, if we had no propulsion problems, we would have had one less day in the bad sea conditions.
- Because of the lack of proper compensation, we had to worry for 8 of 10 days about the following uphill battle of dealing with NCL's corporate offices after we got home. Throughout the entire cruise it was always in the back of our minds, prevented us from fully relaxing, essentially tarnishing our entire vacation with anxiety.
- When we got home, rather than bask in the great vacation we had, we immediately had to deal with attempting to deal with NCL corporate to get a refund. The stress caused on the cruise would continue after the cruise until it was resolved - that's a big if it was resolved.
- Because of the problems, we constantly were hearing other guests on the cruise complaining about the problems. This was a constant reminder and a constant stress.
- NCL stands to financially gain from an extra day at sea. People, with no island to visit, wind up spending their money at the bars, restaurants, and shops on the cruise ship, rather than the port of call. And since people everywhere were expressing how upset they were, people were most likely ordering more drinks than usual, making NCL more money. Additionally, NCL provided on its television and in its central lounge area ("Crystal Atrium") advertisements to shop on the ship.
- During prime daytime hours, a snake-oil type salesman was promoting purchasing of Alexandrite gems, citing several incorrect facts (It's the “rarest stone in the world” being one of the false claims. It's not even the rarest gemstone – see http://www.curiousnotions.com/gemstones/ ) and generally giving a car-salesman sales pitch.
It is embarrassing to have to return to friends and family having a bad sales experience on a large purchase such as a cruise.
- Cruise staff on the ship were given no flexibility. While the customer relations staff on the ship were extremely polite and expressed sympathy, they were given absolutely no flexibility to provide compensation for guests. I suggested compensating more on-board credit, cover charge for their premium restaurants, drinks at the bar, or compensation for excursions. The staff said that authorization was given only from their Miami office. This is silly - when you run a hotel, your local staff and management needs to have flexibility to deal with guests. NCL tied its hotel staff's hands.
- Did we get extra activities scheduled on the extra day at sea? None that I saw.
- My girlfriend and I both work on hourly / contract basis. A vacation represents lost wages, not just vacation days.
- We heard that some of the staff had scheduled shore leave / were set to depart the boat on San Juan. Would this translate into pissed-off staff? I'd imagine so.
- For a full day en route to the Caribbean, the "Navigation Channel" on the in-cabin television was turned off. Whether true or not, it gives the impression that the crew did not want us to see the location and/or speed of the ship. When it did come up, the navigation path was messed up, indicating that we had stopped in San Juan and that we also sailed near the coast of Africa.

Additionally, there were a few other issues we had with the cruise:
- This is my third NCL cruise. The food was noticeably of a lesser quality. My first cruise, 4 years ago, had me thinking every basic meal was fantastic - even the buffets were super tasty. Last cruise, a year and a half ago, food wasn't as good as the first, but still very good. This cruise, there were many nights we looked at the menu of the main dining rooms, and felt compelled to pay for the premium restaurants instead.
- The first day, there was absolutely far too little capacity to feed the 2000+ guests going on board hungry and seeking food. They had their cafeteria open and it was standing room for many people eating. It was January in New York, so eating outside was out of the question.
- While the majority of the staff I dealt with was polite and friendly, there were a couple of wait staff who were very slow and messed up orders. Considering that the menus were limited, this should have been easily avoidable.

Compensation for our trouble? $7.50 per person.

For all this trouble, NCL's office in Miami authorized the cruise ship's staff to offer us $75. In on-board credit that we had to spend on the ship. Per state room, not per person. Unacceptable! Considering that the port fees were $150 per person, assuming 5 ports of call (according to my research, home ports - as New York City appears to be - generally charge greatly reduced fees) we're talking an average of ... $30 per person per port or $60 of the $75. Since we did not go to Puerto Rico, we shouldn't have to pay the port fees. That means after subtracting port fees, we were compensated $7.50 per person - barely enough to pay for a well drink at the cruise ship bar.

Didn't Anyone See Titanic?

Now, I understand that malfunctions with equipment happen. I also understand that if you are responsible for the lives and safety of over three thousand people, both guests and staff, you really should carry spare parts for each and every part of essential navigation and propulsion equipment.

Documenting my Efforts

This blog's purpose is to document my efforts to gain proper compensation for the bungling of our cruise, and to educate consumers to NCL's practices in regards to this matter - whether good or bad.

I know it is selfish, but should NCL compensate us an adequate amount, I will delete this blog and its contents. I expect at minimum a 25% refund for the trip, after port fees, taxes, and service charges. Should NCL refund something like 50% or more, I might even consider sailing with them again.

However, lots of people in my family cruise with NCL, and this will certainly affect our consideration for future cruises with NCL. And if it comes down to it, I will have to share this blog, promote it, and use it in the only way I can to recoup some of our losses. If necessary, I will make a YouTube video on par with "United Breaks Guitars" and promote my story on a variety of social media resources.

I really don't want it to come to that.

Legal:

All mentions of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), its ships and services, and any interaction with its staff, is under fair use of laws of the United States of America. My reporting on and publishing of my account and interaction with NCL is protected by the First Amendment of the United States of America's Constitution. DMCA take-down notices will be responded to with counter-notices immediately, and then published as evidence as belligerence.